Book Reviews

  #UnlikelyAnimals by Annie Hartnett is so sweet & charming, I just loved it! Well developed (and likable) characters that are funny, troubled, confused, frustrated and all the other emotions of life mixed in while they all try to do the best they can with what they are dealt.  When Emma was young she had “the gift of touch” which has failed her in adult life as she struggles to maintain the charade of attending medical school while she flounders doing nothing. Called back to her small-town upbringing because her father is dying, Emma learns to reconnect with her past and finds hope and encouragement along the way.  There’s so much more to this story than Emma. The whole town is involved, even the lovely spirits down at the Maple Street cemetery. Sitting on their graves, cheering on (or at least observing) the goings-on of their beloved small town. Then there’s all the animals, real & imagined, that accompany our main characters through thick & thin. There’s e...

 This is a lovely story of a long, full, passionate life. Violeta, born during the Spanish Flu, writes her life story as she is dying during yet another pandemic, Covid-19.  No, she doesn’t die of Covid; she’s 100 years old and still has a sharp mind & feels compelled in her final days to share all she has retained of a life well lived.

I enjoyed this short book about an Uncle taking care of his niece & nephew for the summer while their dad is in rehab. There were many sweet & funny moments. If you’re looking for a hopeful, happy read…look no further. 

This is a relatively quick read at just over 300 pages. The main character is truly delightful. She’s honest, direct, and often uncertain. Her name is Molly and she happens to be a maid at a fancy hotel. At this hotel, a guest is found dead and the circumstances surrounding the death entangles Molly in situations she’s uncertain how to handle.  What makes this book different than others? Molly doesn’t have a specifically named diagnosis, but it’s apparent that she struggles with social cues, sarcasm, and reading the true intent of others. Despite all this, she’s highly skilled in her job, takes great pride in it, and her attention to detail is appreciated by the hotel clients.  I enjoyed the story and it’s pace. Originally I was thinking it would be a good YA novel due to the fact that much of the language is simple. However, with Molly’s strict adherence to proper etiquette, there may be enough vocabulary to keep higher-level readers engaged.  Thank you to Netgalley for ...

 I’m not a big fan of “cheating” in love. I don’t think it’s honorable. So it’s hard for me to read about it & think “oh well there ya go, that’s an ok reason to lie and hurt people.” But having said that, this happens to be the story line in this book. It’s a well-written love triangle that goes on for decades because two friends love the same man and he them…. and they lie to each other until they don’t. It doesn’t seem to matter why the triangle happens, but it never ends differently.

 I enjoyed this debut novel from Toni Halleen.  I also admit to one situation in the book being quite far-fetched in my humble opinion. I put that situation aside and continued on because I just needed to know how it all ends! My hunches about where the plot was going, changed a few times, due to the fact that the author was pretty sly at allowing the reader to enjoy the characters & then let us change our mind about the characters in a back and forth way and it really worked.  This story is about a couple who marries and becomes a “blended” family because Hal, the husband, has children from a previous marriage. Ruth, the wife, really doesn’t feel wholly connected to her stepchildren and battles the feelings of being an outsider. Ruth desperately wants to have her own child with her husband to complete their family. They negotiate a contract with Cally, the surrogate, and the story unfolds from there. It’s an interesting look into the challenges of surrogacy and I fel...